Saturday, August 14, 2021

THE CHASE - "The Black Path Of Fear" (1946)

 
Just from the looks of this Turkish poster, you know right away that there's something strange going on! That's why this Saturday Night Special is "The Chase!"

"The Chase" starring Robert Cummings came out in 1946, and while there have been other films with the same title but different stories, like the Marlon Brando version in 1966, or the Charlie Sheen version in 1994, the 1946 version is the one you really want to see.

A down and out veteran finds a wallet full of money, and after pinching enough to buy himself some breakfast and a cheap cigar, he decides to return the wallet to the owner whose name and address he found inside.

As it turns out, the owner, a man named Eddie Roman is quite wealthy!

But before he can talk to Mr. Roman, he has to get by his henchman/partner named Gino, who was played by Dungeon Mega Hero, Peter Lorre! Peter is great in this sinister role, just as he always is!

Another Dungeon Hero, Robert Cummings, is the honest vagabond veteran Chuck Scott. Four years earlier, Robert was in an equally paranoid adventure as Barry Kane in Hitchcock's "Saboteur."
 
Steve Cochran has the role of a two-bit gangster posing as legitimate businessman Eddie Roman. Steve was in "The Twilight Zone" episode titled "What You Need." In 1965 at the age of 48, Steve sailed off for Guatemala, but died of a lung infection before he ever got there.
Eddie Roman is a punk, and likes to slap women around!

Chuck Scott gives Eddie his wallet back, and is rewarded for his honesty with a chauffeur job driving for Mr. Big Shot!

Not knowing anything at all about his new boss, Chuck thinks he's landed himself a pretty good deal!

It doesn't take him long to figure out that Eddie Roman is not exactly the guy he pretends to be, especially when he finds out that he has an accelerator pedal and speedometer in the back seat where he can control the speed, and scare the crap out of the driver!

These are not the smiling faces of two guys you can trust!
 
Because they will literally feed you to the dogs if you don't do what they ask!

Michèle (The Strange Madame X) Morgan as Eddie Roman's wife Lorna is not a happy camper. She didn't know Eddie was a dirty rat and a crook when she married him, and now she wants to find a way to get away from him forever. Maybe the new chauffeur will be the answer to ending her nightmare!

Chuck and Lorna come up with a plan to go to Cuba where hopefully Eddie will never find either of them.

But once they get to Cuba, everything goes to Hell in a hand basket in no time at all. It appears that Eddie has people watching them wherever they go!

Chuck and Lorna have now officially fallen in love, and then, out of nowhere, she gets a knife in the back and dies on the spot!

Of course, Chuck is the number one suspect!

Chuck escapes from the Police, and now, "The Chase" is on!

Chased through the streets of Havana, Chuck is allowed to hide behind the door in this prostitute's apartment, as the cops go door to door searching for him. When he asks her why she helped him, she replies "I hate cops." The actress who played the prostitute was Yolanda (Shockproof) Lacca.

There is a picture of the real killer taken by the photographer in the restaurant where the murder happened, but before Chuck can get to him, he's murdered, and the photo is destroyed.

"The Chase" goes on until Chuck gets shot in the chest, and he wakes up disoriented in this room.
I'm not going to tell you what happened after that, but it did confuse the heck out of me, so you're just going to watch it yourself! And the cool thing is you can do it right here! 

Monster Music

Monster Music
AAARRGGHHH!!!! Ya'll Come On Back Now, Y'Hear??